Sea of Thieves (Steam) causing the computer to shut off impredictably

  • ImFireBall
    Castaway

    Hi everyone!

    I am writing because of the really weird experience that has been happening to one of my friends recently. His computer randomly shuts off while playing anything related to SoT, any game mode. There is no clear explanation and solution about this issue, as everything that was posted about this problem in other threads was tried but didn't result in any progression.

    Here are the solutions that I gave him to try:

    • Reinstall the game;

    • Reinstall the game in another storage drive;

    • Capping the framerate (144 and 60) and trying max/lowest settings;

    • Undervolting the GPU;

    • Consulting the Windows Event Viewer for kernel panics (the tool only reports the pc as it has shut off unexpectedly, returning event ID 6008);

    • Checking for overheating (no thermal throttling whatsoever, CPU, GPU, RAM, VRAM tested with OCCT);

    • Updating GPU drivers to the latest version;

    • DDU'd the drivers and reinstalled the latest one;

    • Checking for game/OS file corruptions.

    We tried almost everything except reinstalling Windows, which he didn't want to do (at least for now) for personal data that he has on his pc, but we are considering that as the last resort anyway.

    Notes: this is an issue that happens ONLY on SoT, any other game/program has no problems whatsoever, even the OS is completely healthy.

    The fact that also blows me out is how he didn't have the slightest instability when we were playing in 2021: of course years passed and the game got hugely updated, but he assured me he didn't tackle with his pc other than cleaning it periodically or updating GPU drivers.

    We didn't think about reseating RAM/CPU/GPU, PSU cables in general or updating the BIOS because this issue only happens in SoT as said earlier, but probably will try updating in a shorter time.

    I will list his PC parts below. I think I have been detailed in my explanation, but don't hesitate to ask any other information. I will do my best to get this problem solved, as I have seen some people just give up on the game because this resulted to be unsolvable (other than completely changing machine). It would be amazing to be helpful!

    Thank you in advance.

    CPU: Intel Core i7 10700K 3.8 GHz 8-core

    CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X52 240mm AIO

    Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z490-P (BIOS Ver: 1001)

    Memory (x2, Dual Channel): Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 2933MHz CL14

    GPU: GIGABYTE RX 5700 XT GAMING OC 8G (Stock clocks, BIOS Ver: 017.001.000.049.000000)

    PSU: Cooler Master MWE 700 White

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  • Karkona
    Commander

    The only time I've ever heard of a computer shutting off during a game is if its overheating.

  • Red0Demon0
    Commander
    Insider

    I had a similar issue in two different times a few years back.

    The 1st time was due to overheating, the pc external frame became hot but didn't notice this initially, the game started crashing at first and then the pc would crash a few months after. Got a new cooling system and GPU before running into the 2nd issue roughly 5-6 months after

    The 2nd time it happened, I had 600-700 PSU too, and it wasn't enough power to supply my gaming pc with a new GTX1080TI GPU I had bought (For reference your friend has something equivalent to a RTX2070 Super. Bought myself a 1600W PSU and nvr had an issue like that again. The game would crash at random intervals after launching into a server, with each crash decreasing the interval of it happening again. While playing a game, you will find that PC require more power than if it were in standby or just watching a video/ browsing the internet.

    I can't remember which of these 2 caused the issue but I also noticed a decrease in frame rates, with game stutters that became more frequent and made the play sessions unplayable at times.

    With that said, follow the directions by Rare first, make sure you have antivirus not interfering with the game, verified integrity of the game, so on and so on.

    • I'd try to find a way to see if the computer is overheating, liquid coolers tend to malfunction more than regular air cooling.

    • If that's not the case it may be time to juice up the PC with more power and buy a new PSU

    • If none of these work then ask ur friend if the crashes happen when they have some sort of headphones/ mic plugged in, or being plugged in/ out. If the crash does happen in this scenario I recommend they check in settings, programs, for nahimic services and disable it. It's an audio software that optimizes games, a 3rd party product that for some reason gets installed within your OS so it's near impossible to uninstall, thankfully you can toggle it on or off. The issue with this program is that it's highly incompatible with other sound systems or sound optimizers if your friend has any. This program wouldn't crash my pc, but it would crash the game at random intervals.

  • Erissar
    Master
    Insider
    Moderator

    Please raise a Support Ticket and add such information to it:
    #1

    1. Press Windows key + R
    2. Enter the below command.

    powershell -Command "Get-EventLog -LogName Application -newest 10000 | where {$_.Message -like "SeaOfThieves"} | Export-Csv "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\SeaOfThievesErrors.csv""

    1. Once the process finishes please find the SeaOfThievesErrors file from the desktop and attach it to your ticket.

    #2

    1. Press windows key + R

    2. Enter the below command
      wscollect

    3. Please find and attach the storelogs located on your desktop and attach it to your ticket.

    #3

    1. Press the windows key
    2. Type in dxdiag
    3. Run the dxdiag
    4. Select Save All information and attach the dxdiag file located on your desktop to your ticket.
  • DaxMack
    Sailor

    Did you figure out what the issue was? I've been trying to play for months and can't figure it out and I'm pulling out my hair cause I've spent over 100 hours trying to fix this..

  • jmitchell2005
    Castaway

    Ok so After days of this game shuting down on me I was able to resolve the issue on my computer. Under Video Settings I change the Buffering from what was default Quad on my computer to Double. I played all night finnaly without a PC shutdown. hope this helps others as well.

  • Amiffliction
    Seafarer

    I just wanna say, I struggled with this issue for months, spent many hours troubleshooting, following any advice I could. Even upgraded my power supply, and fixed my higher CPU temps which were apparently unrelated to it.

    It was my RAM. One of my 8gb ram sticks had apparently died and I was only running a single 8gb stick. After installing new ram, the issue is now fixed for me. Phew. Hope it can help someone in the future as a possibility for random shut downs in the game. The lack of ram hadn’t affected any of my other games. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

  • Amiffliction
    Seafarer

    @amiffliction Nevermind :( it started happening again, though now only when I'm opening menus or tabbing out of the game

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